The History of the BSU

In the wake of the 1969 crucifixion of Dr. Martin Luther King, a group of Black students then known as the Afro American Action Committee (the predecessor of the Africana Student Cultural Center) stormed the University of Minnesota administration building and demanded the creation of an Afro studies department, increased financial aid for students of color, the Africana Student Cultural Center, and space for the establishment of current student cultural centers. Since then, Africana has been revolutionary vanguard on the University of Minnesota campus and has provided an environment that cultivates students of the African Diasporas.

The Black Student Union formally known as Africana Student Cultural center had existed in varied names since 1967. Founded via informal meetings led by African and African American students in Coffman Union, The Black Student Union's beginnings stemmed from the need to voice concerns facing students of color on a predominately-Caucasian campus. As these issues became the focus the informal meetings, the students began bringing in Black leaders such as Stokley Carmichel, to address the student body directly. The Black Student Union became a cohesive effort when word of Martin Luther King Jr's death spread across campuses. In the spirit of social justice, student organized a march to downtown Minneapolis and demanded that more black scholars be offered faculty positions at the University and that a University wide program be held honoring the late Martin Luther King Jr.

The University of Minnesota Administration made promises to improve the live of black students on campus. The promises that were made were also guaranteed grants to students of color: this promise was to be broken. Students soon came to realize that the grants that they were promised were no more than federal subsidized loans. Thus, a broken promise was one of many inciting incidents that led to the students taking over Morrill Hall.

The Black Student Union has long been an advocate and vital recourse for black students on campus and an entity, which has always been in pursuit of social justice. The Black Student Union has been housed in such places as the Dinky Dome, Appleby Hall, Pillsbury, and Coffman Union. Regardless of where the Black Student Union has been housed, it has always celebrated the culture and the achievements of African and African American people within our campus community and within society as a whole. Black students only account for 4% of the total University of Minnesota student population. In light of this, the Black Student Union understands its duty to serve as a tool that advances and celebrates black student culture on campus and in the surrounding community, while remaining an impetus for the advancement of diversity at the University of Minnesota.